Oxygen is re-airing the Accident, Suicide, or Murder investigation into the murder of heart surgeon Dr. David Stephens by his wife, former nurse Stephanie Stephens, at their home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
On May 1, 2001, Stephanie claimed she woke up to find David’s lifeless body. David suffered numerous health issues, and his death was initially recorded as a natural death as a result of end-stage liver failure.
However, the Forrest County coroner withdrew a couple of vials of blood from David’s remains and sent them off to the Mississippi Crime Laboratory. The lab discovered Etomidate, an anesthetic, in his system.
The police launched an investigation, which led to David’s remains being exhumed. Further autopsy tests revealed the presence of Atracurium, a drug used to paralyze muscles during surgery.
The cops concluded that Stephanie had put the lethal concoction into her husband’s insulin pump.
The 59-year-old heart surgeon had previously suffered a stroke and also contracted diabetes and hepatitis. His failing health had initially led the authorities to assume he’d died of natural causes.
David was a renowned heart surgeon who moved to Hattiesburg to establish a cardiovascular program at Forrest General Hospital. He had moved to Mississippi with his first wife, Karen Stephens, and their two children.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelDavid and Stephanie Stephens married after first wife Karen Stephens shot herself
In March 1996, Karen learned that her husband had begun an affair with Stephanie, a nurse at the hospital. During an argument with David, Karen grabbed a firearm and discharged the weapon into her mouth. She died from her injuries two months later.
Karen’s death was put down as a suicide over David’s objections, who argued her death should have been ruled accidental.
A short time later, Stephanie divorced her husband, and she married David the following year.
Both David and Stephanie’s health began to deteriorate a short time later, which affected their ability to work and their income.
The police claimed that Stephanie murdered David for financial gain, to access his estate, which was worth about $3 million. She was charged with her husband’s murder on September 12, 2002.
Stephanie pleaded not guilty, and the case went to a jury. This was a high-profile case because it was the first in Mississippi to allow TV cameras into the courtroom.
Stephanie Stevens sentenced to life for killing Dr David Stephens
Due to the media attention, the trial was moved from Forrest County to DeSoto County in the northwest of the state. The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before convicting Stephanie.
In 2003, Stephanie was sentenced to life in prison. She would have been eligible for parole after 30 years, but she passed away from double pneumonia three years later, aged 39.
This episode of Accident, Suicide, or Murder re-airs Thursday at 6/5c on Oxygen.